Food Security

How much of its own food does a community produce, at the local, regional, or national level? How dependent is the community on food brought in from other areas or other countries?

What access does an individual or family have to healthy, nutritious foods? What barriers, from location to cost to lack of information, impede their access?

Who makes decisions regarding food production and access? The concept of “food sovereignty” interacts in many ways with food security issues.

Food security is all too easy to ignore in the seeming plenty that surrounds Americans. But there are many potential threats to our food supply and to each person’s access to healthy, safe foods. Learn more about issues such as the consolidation of the agricultural and food industry, genetically engineered foods, biodiversity and seeds, water and other vital resources, and local control.

Food Security in the News:

A single restaurant wastes about 100,000 pounds of food each year. But many U.S. restaurants say they’re resistant to giving away their extra fare out of fear of getting sued.

This fear exists in spite of legal protections against such suits. A number of restaurants and non-profit organizations are partnering to reduce waste and to feed people who would otherwise go without. Read More.